Indian Sub-continent

Nagpur, Jan 4 (PTI) Unemployment is the biggest of the major problems facing the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Fiday said, adding that there was a "difference" between employment and jobs.

He was addressing a youth empowerment summit organised by Fortune Foundation here.

New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) There were heated scenes in the Lok Sabha as Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of insulting her and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Nobody has a right to call me or the prime minister a thief and a liar," said a visibly angry Sitharaman, whom speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to calm down.

The defence minister was responding to Gandhi who said that he wanted to speak as his name was taken by Sitharaman during her reply to a debate on Rafale deal.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 4 (PTI) The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) Friday decided to seek an explanation from the head priest of Sabarimala temple, for his decision to perform purification rituals after two women of menstrual age entered the shrine.

"We have decided to seek explanation from the Thanthri about the circumstances that led him to perform the rituals.

His act was against the Supreme Court order," Board president A Padmakumar told PTI.

New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) Lok Sabha Friday passed a bill to amend the Aadhaar Act and two related laws which will allow individuals to offer voluntarily biometric ID as a means of identity verification for obtaining services such as opening bank account and procuring mobile phone connection.

Chatra (Jharkhand), Jan 4 (PTI) One Maoist activist was killed in an encounter with security forces inside a jungle in the Naxal-affected Chatra district on Friday, a senior police officer said.

Security forces comprising district armed police and the CRPF were on anti-Maoist operation near Gouri under Bashistnagar police station area, when the ultras started firing.

The securitymen retaliated and in the ensuing encounter, one of the Maoist activist was killed, DIG (North Chotanagpur), Pankaj Kamboj told PTI.

Bengaluru, Jan 4 (PTI) A clerk working in the office ofthe Minister for Backward Classes Welfare was arrested here Friday after Rs 14 lakh in unaccounted cash was seized from him, police said.

Minister C Puttarangashetty who was not in the city alleged conspiracy behind the incident.

"We have arrested a person by name Mohan. We are interrogating him," Assistant Police Commissioner of Cubbon Park sub division Manjunath T said.

Acting on a tip-off, the police nabbed Mohan when he was taking the cash inside Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.

Amaravati (Maha), Jan 4 (PTI) Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday appealed people to shun the BJP if they wanted to safeguard the Constitution.

Addressing a rally here, Azad, who was earlier denied permission to hold rallies in Pune and Mumbai, said voters should be wary of BJP's "misleading tactics".

"The fight in 2019 is between a paper tiger and a jungle tiger. They spread rumours that Azad has been bought...

but no currency can buy me," he said.

KANPUR: Nearly 51 textile factories will now stop production up to March 4. These industrial units do not have a zero discharge system. The wastes of these plants are directly falling into the Ganges. In absence of non-tapping of the ICI Drain and the Gunda Nullah, the effluents are directly going down through these streams into the Pandu River which later merges into the Ganges. This cannot be allowed until the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad.

04 Jan 2019; AFP: Police in southern India said Friday that a third woman has entered a flashpoint temple, stoking tensions after two days of clashes involving Hindu hardliners and police.

The Sabarimala temple in Kerala state has been at the centre of a prolonged showdown since India's top court overturned in September a ban on women aged 10 to 50 setting foot inside.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3; PTI: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Thursday lashed out at the BJP and the RSS over protests against the entry of two women into the Sabarimala temple, saying the violence unleashed by them will be dealt with strongly.

Vijayan said the two women were not "airdropped" to Sabarimala but went as normal devotees and the other pilgrims did not protest.